DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — About 45 minutes have been cut from the nearly three-hour high-finance movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” for Dubai audiences, about a quarter of the film, leaving many viewers disappointed and confused about the sequence of events.

The cuts, standard practice across most of the Middle East, come as the movie has drawn criticism even from film critics in more liberal countries for its portrayal of drugs, sex and money. Detractors say the film glorifies unchecked greed, includes full nudity and is loaded with a reported record for so-called F-bombs in a movie — more than 500.

One woman wrote on the Facebook page for Reel Cinemas, which operates two theaters in Dubai, that she and a friend walked out after about 40 minutes.

Juma al-Leem, director of media content at the National Media Center, said censors in the United Arab Emirates typically cut out scenes or language deemed blasphemous or harmful to national security.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is adapted from Jordan Belfort’s memoir about his heady rise from a penny stock trader to a wealthy stock swindler. The Associated Press

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